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Pumpkin Crumb Cake Cookies

Pumpkin crumb cake cookies with a thick pumpkin-spice base and a buttery cinnamon crumb topping baked until lightly golden. Each cookie gets a generous crumb press, then finishes with a powdered sugar dust like coffee cake in cookie form.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
minutes 15 minutes
Total Time 54 minutes
Servings: 20 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 215
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For cinnamon crumb topping
  • 1 cup flour
  • 0.75 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.5 cup butter (melted)
For pumpkin cookie base
  • 2.25 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.75 cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 0.33 cup pumpkin (blotted dry)
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
For finishing
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Equipment

  • 1 stand mixer
  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Make cinnamon crumb topping
  1. Mix flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon together until evenly combined. Drizzle in the melted butter while tossing until large crumbs form with no dry flour pockets.
  2. Refrigerate the crumb topping for 15 minutes so it firms up for pressing onto the cookies.
Make pumpkin cookie base
  1. Beat butter and brown sugar together until smooth and creamy.
  2. Add blotted dry pumpkin, then beat to incorporate.
  3. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla until the mixture looks uniform.
  4. Fold in flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt just until no dry streaks remain.
  5. Scoop 2-tablespoon thick rounds and place them on a sheet pan.
  6. Press a generous handful of crumb topping into each cookie so it adheres and covers the top.
Bake and finish
  1. Bake at 375°F for 12-14 minutes, until the tops look set and lightly golden at the edges.
  2. Cool completely before finishing.
  3. Dust generously with powdered sugar right before serving for a coffee-cake look.

Notes

Pro tip: blot the pumpkin well so the cookie base bakes thick instead of spreading. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days; freeze baked cookies up to 2 months. For a dairy-free swap, use a 1:1 plant-based butter stick in both the topping and cookie base.